Row-crop harvester

ABSTRACT

A two-row harvester has a pair of guides each adapted to receive a crop row and each provided with a chopper-cutter which severs the crop at its base and chops it up. These chopper-cutters each have a rotor with a substantially vertical axis and each open inwardly into a blower having an impeller formed of a vertical disk whose faces are provided with radial vanes and which is situated between the chopper-cutters. A horizontal drive shaft serving as rotation axis for the blower is provided with a pair of bevel gears which mesh with bevel gears carried on the drive shafts of the cutter-choppers so as to rotate them in opposite senses.

United States Patent Maier et al.

ROW-CROP HARVESTER Inventors: Martin Maier; Josef Purrer, both of Gottmadingen, Germany Assignee: Maschinenfabrik Fahr A.G.,

Gottmadingen, Germany 1 Oct. 23, 1973 Primary ExaminerRussell R. Kinsey Assistant Examiner-4. A. Oliff Attorney-Karl F. Ross [57] ABSTRACT A two-row harvester has a pair of guides each adapted to receive a crop row and each provided with a chopper-cutter which severs the crop at its base and chops it up. These chopper-cutters each have a rotor with a substantially vertical axis and each open inwardly into a blower having an impeller formed of a vertical disk whose faces are provided with radial vanes and which is situated between thechopper-cutters. A horizontal drive shaft serving as rotation axis for the blower is provided with a pair of bevel gears which mesh with bevel gears carried on the drive shafts of the cutterchoppers so as to rotate them in opposite senses.

' present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a cross+sectional view taken along line IIII 1 ROW-CROP HARVESTER FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a harvester for a row crop. More specifically this invention concerns a barvester for corn or another stalk crop which is drawn by a prime mover, such as a tractor, and which simultaneously cuts and chops up two rows of the crop.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A row-crop harvester of conventional construction may have a pair of guides each associated with a re-' chopper is further equipped with a respective blower of the centrifugal type whose output is connected to a common pipe opening above a wagon or truck that receives the chopped crop.

Such devices are relatively complicated especially with respect to the various drives for the two choppercutters and the two blowers.

OBJECTS OF INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved two-row harvester for stalk crops such as corn or sorghum whereby the aforedescribed disadvantages are avoided.

Another-object is the provision of a harvester, for row crops which is simple and inexpensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These objects are attained according to the present invention in a harvester having two cutter-choppers rotatable about respective upright parallel axes and flanking a single blower which receives the chopped crop and blows it through a duct to a-silage wagon.

This blower comprises an upright disk rotatable about a horizontal axis and provided on each of its faces with a plurality of generally radial vanes. A horizontal cylindrical housing or shroud located between the two cutter-choppers encloses this impeller or rotor and is formed at each end with an orifice opening toward a respective cutter chopper for receiving therefrom the chopped crop.

According to another feature of the invention the two rotation axes of the cutter choppers lie in the same plane as the rotation axis of the impeller so that these elements may all be rotationally linked by such simple means as bevel gears torotate simultaneously, the two choppers rotating in opposite directions for uniform loading of the drive shaft and of the blower and to feed the crop in opposite directions into the blower.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The above and other objects, features, and advantages will become apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which: 7

FIG. .1 is a top view of the apparatus according to the of 'FIG. 1.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION A tractor indicated at 1 in FIG. 1- pulls in direction A the frame 2 of a harvester having two guides 7 adapted to receive rows R of crop C. The tractor has a conventional three-point hitch to which the harvester is connected. Each guide 7 opens forwardly and can be provided on its inner edges with belts or augers for drawing the crop back into the device although this can also result exclusively from forward movement of the harvester.

At the throat of each guide is a chopper-cutter 3 comprising a horizontally oriented disk 20 provided on its lower edge with cutter blades 5 and on its upper face with chopper blades 6 which coact with blades 9 carried on the housing 2. The blades 6 can be angled back from radii of the disks 20 as shown to the shaft in FIG. 1 and the blades 9 extend like secants thereon so as to shear the crop. Each device 3 has an uprightcylindrical housing 8 formed at its front with a notch 21 at which, the crop C is cut and chopped, and on whose edge the counter blade 9 is provided. In addition each chamber 8 is formed with a radially opening square hole or win, dow 18 which opens into theends of a short axial blowing chamber 17 located between the two housings 8.

This blowing chamber 17 forms, along with a disk rotor (impeller) 15 formed on its two faces with radial vanes 16, a blower 14 for displacing the chopped crop into a silage wagon. A horizontal drive shaft 12 journaled in two upright bearing housings 10 on the housings 8 serves as rotation axis for the rotor 15. In addition this shaft 12' carries two bevel gears 11 meshing with bevel gears 22' carried on the support shafts 4 of the choppers 3. The shafts 4 are supported in bearings 23 in the axle housings 10. Thus, rotation of the shaft 12 by means of a drive shaft 13 connected thereto by means of a universal joint 24 and itself connected to the power takeoff of the tractor l by a universal-joint shaft rotates the blower counterclockwise, as seen in FIG. 2 and counterrotates the two choppers 3 to throw the cut and chopped crop into the chamber 17 through the openings 8. Thence the rotating vanes 16 blow the crop out through the conduit 19.

Since the two choppers rotate in opposite directions disk 15 is subjected to opposite forces parallel to its ro-' tation axis by thetwo choppers 3 which shoot the cut and chopped crop against it in opposite directions it is also not subjected, to excessive unbalanced axial forces tending to wear out its bearings. V

We claim:

'1. A .harvester comprising:

a chassis displaceable along the ground in a transport direction; I

a pair of guides having throats opening in said direction' and spaced apart on said chassis transverse to said direction, said guides each being adapted to receive a row of crop; I

respective cutters in said throats of said guides f0 cutting said crop;

a blower'between said cutters on said chassis and having a housing provided with opposite sides opening toward said cutters; and

means associated with each of said cutters for passing the cut crop from the respective cutter into said blower through the respective 'side thereof,

' from said housing.

v 2. The harvester defined in claim 1 wherein said blower further comprises an impeller rotatable between said cutters about a generally horizontal axis.

3. The harvester defined in claim 2 wherein each cutter comprises a rotor rotatable on said chassis about a respective upright axis;

4. The harvester defined in claim 3 wherein said housing is cylindrical and centered on said horizontal axis.

5. The harvester defined in claim 4 wherein said housing has end walls each formed with an orifice opening toward a one of said cutters.

6. The harvester defined in claim 3 wherein said upright axes and said horizontal axis lie in a common upright plane, said upright axes being substantially parallel.

7. The harvester defined in claim 6, further comprissaid rotor drive shafts each carry one such bevel gear so meshing with the gears of said impeller shaft as to rotate said rotors in opposite rotational senses.

10. The harvester defined in claim 8 wherein said upright axes are parallel and extend at right angles to said horizontal axis.

I UNITED STATES AT NT OFFICE CERTIFICATE CORRECTION Patent No. 5,7 ,723 Dated October 25,197h

Inventor(s)MARTIN YI IAIER ET AL It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent. and that:v said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the heading, after line [21] insert as follows:

-- [5o] Foreign Applioation Priority Data November .1971 Germany I r P 21 5 some;

Signed and sealed this 13th (15} of August 197A,

(SEAL) Attest:

MCCOY M. v GIBSON, JR. C. MARSHALL DANN At'testing Officer Commissioner of Patents USCQMMoQC o9376-P69 I u.s. GOVERNMENT mum; omc; nu o-us-su.

FORM PO-IOSO (10-69) 

1. A harvester comprising: a chassis displaceable along the ground in a transport direction; a pair of guides having throats opening in said direction and spaced apart on said chassis transverse to said direction, said guides each being adapted to receive a row of crop; respective cutters in said throats of said guides for cutting said crop; a blower between said cutters on said chassis and having a housing provided with opposite sides opening toward said cutters; and means associated with each of said cutters for passing the cut crop from the respective cutter into said blower through the respective side thereof, whereby the cut crop is discharged by said blower from said housing.
 2. The harvester defined in claim 1 wherein said blower further comprises an impeller rotatable between said cutters about a generally horizontal axis.
 3. The harvester defined in claim 2 wherein each cutter comprises a rotor rotatable on said chassis about a respective upright axis;
 4. The harvester defined in claim 3 wherein said housing is cylindrical and centered on said horizontal axis.
 5. The harvester defined in claim 4 wherein said housing has end walls each formed with an orifice opening toward a one of said cutters.
 6. The harvester defined in claim 3 wherein said upright axes and said horizontal axis lie in a common upright plane, said upright axes being suBstantially parallel.
 7. The harvester defined in claim 6, further comprising drive means including an impeller drive shaft carrying said impeller and lying on said horizontal axis, respective rotor drive shafts carrying said rotors and lying on said upright axes, and gears rotationally coupling said rotor shafts to said impeller shaft at the intersections of said axes.
 8. The harvester defined in claim 7 wherein said gears are bevel gears.
 9. The harvester defined in claim 8 wherein said impeller drive shaft carries a pair of such bevel gears and said rotor drive shafts each carry one such bevel gear so meshing with the gears of said impeller shaft as to rotate said rotors in opposite rotational senses.
 10. The harvester defined in claim 8 wherein said upright axes are parallel and extend at right angles to said horizontal axis. 